According to a court filing earlier this week, former 2016 Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort shared presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian citizen with ties to Russian intelligence. If the data Manafort shared with Kilimnik was used to materially guide spending by Russian nationals to influence the 2016 presidential election, then the Trump campaign seemingly received an “in-kind contribution” from the Russian nationals in the form of “coordinated expenditures” in violation of multiple federal campaign finance laws. A key link in the “coordination” here is the revelation of Manafort’s actions.

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U.S. campaign finance law for decades has provided that any expenditure “made by any person in cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, his authorized political committees, or their agents” is considered a contribution to such candidate subject to contribution limits.

Federal law further provides that a political communication, including any Internet communications placed for a fee on another person’s website, is “coordinated” with a candidate campaign committee when:

The communication is paid for, in whole or in part, by a person other than that candidate committee;

The communication contains specified content, including reference to a clearly identified presidential candidate during the period beginning 120 days before the candidate’s primary up to and including the day of the general election; and

The candidate’s campaign committee requested or suggested the communication be created, produced or distributed; or (let me emphasize: or, not and)

The candidate’s campaign committee was materially involved in decisions regarding the content of the communication, the intended audience of the communication or the timing of the communication.

U.S. law prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly making contributions to U.S. candidate campaigns, and likewise prohibits candidate campaigns (and any person, for that matter) from soliciting or receiving such contributions from a foreign national. And federal law defines “solicit” to mean “explicitly or implicitly” asking, suggesting or recommending that another person make a contribution.

Finally, U.S. law requires a federal candidate campaign committee to report to the Federal Election Commission the identification of each person that makes a contribution to the committee with an aggregate value in excess of $200 within an election cycle. If a communication is paid for by another person in coordination with a candidate campaign, the campaign committee must report the value of the communication as an in-kind contribution received by the candidate.

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Early in 2017, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that the Russian government had conducted an influence campaign in the U.S. 2016 presidential election, including through “overt propaganda.”

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This week, lawyers for Paul Manafort accidently revealed through an improperly redacted court document that in 2016 Manafort had shared political polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian business associate with active ties to Russian intelligence at the time. (Kilimnik, who has also been indicted by Mueller for obstruction, now lives in Russia.) Reportedly, both “Manafort and Rick Gates, the deputy campaign manager, transferred the data to Mr. Kilimnik in the spring of 2016 as Mr. Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination. . . . Most of the data was public, but some of it was developed by a private polling firm working for the campaign.”

If Manafort and Gates did in fact share campaign data with Kilimnik, and Kilimnik and/or any other Russians used that data to materially guide Russian political expenditures in support of the 2016 Trump campaign, then the Russian expenditures would be “coordinated” with the Trump campaign under campaign finance law.

More precisely, if Russians used data obtained from Manafort and/or Gates to inform their decisions about paid advertising mentioning Trump or Clinton—decisions about the content of the ads, the timing of the ads, the intended audience of the ads, etc.—then the ads would likely meet the federal law definition of “coordinated communications.”

Funds paid by Russians to distribute or promote such ads on social or traditional media platforms would be “in-kind contributions” to the Trump campaign under federal campaign finance law — meaning the Trump campaign would have violated the federal law ban on receiving foreign national contributions and related disclosure requirements.

In fact, any request, suggestion or recommendation by Manafort or Gates to Kilimnik or other Russians to run ads supporting Trump based on the polling data Manafort and Gates provided would violate federal law, even if the Russians didn’t follow through on the request. Such a request or suggestion by Manafort or Gates would amount to an illegal solicitation of a “coordinated communication” — i.e., in-kind contribution — from a foreign national.

Whether such violations of federal campaign finance law by the Trump campaign would be criminal violations, or merely civil violations, would depend on whether Manafort and any other involved campaign personnel acted knowingly and willfully. As explained in the Department of Justice manual, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, campaign finance law violations “become potential crimes when they are committed knowingly and willfully, that is, by an offender who knew what the law forbade and violated it notwithstanding that knowledge.” This was Manafort’s fifth presidential campaign, and he appears to have a disregard for legal rules. It is fair to presume he knew what the law forbade and pursued the clandestine course of action in any case.

Any way you cut it, illegal coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia undermines American democracy. But the accidental revelation this week from the Manafort court document suggests special counsel Mueller is digging deep and following the facts wherever they lead. The American people are entitled to answers and accountability, so the Mueller investigation must be allowed to continue to its conclusion.

President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign was fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for campaign reporting violations — one of the largest fees ever levied against a presidential campaign, POLITICO has learned.

Amazing! Didn't have a problem with the violation back then but NOW OMG it's breaking the law! Oh and Collusion, which still ISN'T A CRIME. Just ask HRC.

The Politico report also notes that the DNC encouraged Chalupa to try to arrange an interview with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to talk about Manafort's ties to the former pro-Russia president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, whom Manafort previously advised
The embassy declined to arrange the meeting but was nevertheless "helpful," Chalupa told Politico. "If I asked a question, they would provide guidance, or if there was someone I needed to follow up with," she said, but added that "There were no documents given, nothing like that."

Chalupa also told Politico that the Ukrainian embassy worked directly with reporters in uncovering dirt on Manafort and Trump.

You marxists and your feigned offense, you coordinated a smear campaign using foreign governments to source the material, then you run a false flag operation to snare a group into getting caught, when that fails and you lose the election you use the illegally gained material as a means to instigate a false investigation into the President and his allies in order to execute a coup. So are some pigs better than other pigs there?

As the US denies thousands entry, Mexicans will have little choice but to enforce their own immigration laws. As tens of thousands will be trapped south of Mexico, their governments will be forced to admit failure or spend more on oppression (and violent reactions).

Marxists spent millions in an effort to overrun the border. The already abandoned their caravans, human waves, and unescorted children faster than JFK called off the Bay of Pigs. Said Marxists will cut their losses without admitting that Trump called their bluff. Guaranting America a day or two of not having to provide Jello cups in a detention center but a couple-few thousand dead in the streets of Caracas.

If Manafort and Gates did in fact share campaign data with Kilimnik, and Kilimnik and/or any other Russians used that data to materially guide Russian political expenditures in support of the 2016 Trump campaign, then the Russian expenditures would be "coordinated" with the Trump campaign under campaign finance law. More precisely, if Russians used data obtained from Manafort and/or Gates to inform their decisions about paid advertising mentioning Trump or Clinton—decisions about the content of the ads, the timing of the ads, the intended audience of the ads, etc.—then the ads would likely meet the federal law definition of "coordinated communications." Funds paid by Russians to distribute or promote such ads on social or traditional media platforms would be "in-kind contributions" to the Trump campaign under federal campaign finance law — meaning the Trump campaign would have violated the federal law ban on receiving foreign national contributions and related disclosure requirements.

Pretty soon you'll be telling me that paying hush money to Stormy Daniels for doing what Monica Lewinsky did free of charge (she was a volunteer intern) constitutes a violation of campaign finance laws.

Mueller has been investigating Trump for a year and a half. At some point, the public is going to demand that Mueller either put up or shut up, neither of which I have ever seen you do.

Even more amazing than gullible Lefties like T_G, who hang onto every dangling carrot offered up by the Left, is the straight faced delivery of their talking heads in the media. Almost 2 years in and the Gullibullshidters are still at it and still no closer to losing credibility! T_G's crowd, who couldn't care less about 33,000 deleted e-mails, 4 dead in Benghazi, 20% of the country's Uranium handed over to the Russians or those high dollar speaking fees Cigar Man received while Hillary was Sec. of State STILL want us to believe Trump's the bad guy. Are you bleepin' kidding me T_G?!

Mueller will close shop with no charges against PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump.

Mueller will close shop with no charges against Trump, but he will announce vague accusations of things he won't charge Trump with because he lacks the evidence to make them stick. The lefties will demand the Congress impeach Trump even though they know the evidence Mueller produced is insufficient to convince anybody but themselves. Mueller will be the political equivalent of Christine Blasey Ford, unable to convince anybody who isn't already convinced.

Mueller will close shop with no charges against Trump, but he will announce vague accusations of things he won't charge Trump with because he lacks the evidence to make them stick. The lefties will demand the Congress impeach Trump even though they know the evidence Mueller produced is insufficient to convince anybody but themselves. Mueller will be the political equivalent of Christine Blasey Ford, unable to convince anybody who isn't already convinced.

Some_Morons have been convinced of guilt and imminent removal from office since before Mueller was even appointed.

Mueller will close shop with no charges against Trump, but he will announce vague accusations of things he won't charge Trump with because he lacks the evidence to make them stick. The lefties will demand the Congress impeach Trump even though they know the evidence Mueller produced is insufficient to convince anybody but themselves. Mueller will be the political equivalent of Christine Blasey Ford, unable to convince anybody who isn't already convinced.

Mueller's latest tactic is going over PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump's speeches and campaign rallies. He's mining Trump's rhetoric for language that he can claim as "obstruction". Words that could be "interpreted" as swaying potential jurors or witness tampering. The dude needs to get a life and we deserve a refund.

Typical left tard m.o. but this time it's going to be different, this time it will work....
If these same fools cared as much about running the country as they do getting Trump any way possible something might actually get fixed.